Alejandro Bedoya started the Union off early in their U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal victory against Orlando City S.C. Wednesday evening, finishing a corner kick play in the fourth minute, and he continued to perform and execute from there.

But credit was spread all over the pitch and across the roster, as the Union continued to press high and capitalize on Orlando’s mistakes in the first half, maintained possession and hunkered down to close out the match in the second half, and shut down Orlando’s attack throughout the full 90 minutes.

Player Ratings

Andre Blake – 6

Andre Blake didn’t give the game-rescuing performance he usually gives, but only because he didn’t need to. The Union’s back line shut down Orlando’s attack for the most part. Blake, of course, still came up strong when he needed to, saving all four of Orlando’s shots on target.

Keegan Rosenberry – 7

Rosenberry performed well on both sides of the ball, but he particularly shined while the Union had the ball. Moving up the wing, the right back was able to put some nice plays together with David Accam, Borek Dockal, and Alejandro Bedoya. He might have been even better in the final third than he was in the back.

Mark McKenzie – 9

It’s pretty difficult to stop Dom Dwyer from scoring. He’s scored in eight goals in his 13 games played this season. It’s really difficult to keep him from taking even one shot. 19-year-old Mark McKenzie did just that. The young centerback paired with fellow Academy product Auston Trusty to shut down Dwyer and Orlando’s attack all night. His distribution was impeccable as well, playing smart balls through the lines that rarely missed their mark. Best performance for McKenzie so far.

Auston Trusty – 9

Trusty did just as well. He, like McKenzie deserves credit for the shutout, and despite Jim Curtin’s comments that he can improve offensively, Trusty’s decisions moving up the pitch are pretty damn good for most MLS centerbacks, let alone a 19-year-old. His passing way intelligent and daring, and it really did set the Union’s attack off the right way.

Ray Gaddis – 6

Solid performance from Gaddis. Deserves credit for the shutout as well. He wasn’t tested as much, but that may also be a testament to his defensive prowess. He still kills the momentum in the final third from time-to-time, but it didn’t seem to be too much of an issue this match.

Haris Medunjanin – 7

Medunjanin’s service was all over the pitch, as per usual. If Trusty’s passes start the Union attack off the right way, Medunjanin gives it a purpose. He also had two shot on the night, and if one had fallen to his left rather than his less-favored right, he may have had a goal.

Alejandro Bedoya – 9

Bedoya scored the single goal of the match and had another shot to go with it, but everything else he did boosts his rating as well. He covered an insane amount of ground to see this one out, moving out to the wings at times to move the attack forward. He continues to be the lead-by-example captain of this team. Great to see him get a goal, so his stat-sheet can start to reflect his work rate.

Borek Dockal – 6

If the Union drew or lost, maybe this score would be a bit lower. Dockal missed three opportunities, including one set-up from Bedoya that should have been cake. It’s his job as the no. 10 to bury games by finishing those chances. That being said, he didn’t hurt the Union’s winning performance, and helped move it forward for the most part. His chemistry with his squad is there at this point, and his creativity consistently shows.

David Accam – 5

The winger has hit a bit of a slump this season, but he still performed fine on Wednesday, consistently beating a man on the wings with his speed. He had one shot on the night, and it feels like he should have had more. After beating that first man, he often lost the ball or wasn’t able to put good service behind it.

Fafa Picualt – 7

Speaking of using speed to win on the wings, Fafa Picault had another exciting performance, creating space for himself and developing plays from the outside in. He was a huge part of the Union’s attack and had four shots on the night. He has to finish more of those, though. Also put in some serious defensive work in the back third.

Cory Burke – 5

Two hard shots on the night, largely created by himself for himself, Cory Burke was an offensive presence but he wasn’t able to finish. If he had buried one, his score would be much higher, but with below-average distribution and a couple lost possessions by goal, Burke could have performed better. He’s still an obvious threat, however, and Orlando’s obligation to account for him opened things up for the rest of the squad.

Substitutes

Marcus Epps (59′) – 7

Epps made his presence felt, soon after his substitution. The winger, like Picault and Accam, did well to create space from himself, but where he shined was how he used that space. When the option was there, Epps cut in to create a couple dangerous opportunities. Otherwise however, Epps recognized that his job was to keep the ball in the final third to close out the match. He did just that.

C.J. Sapong (63′) – 6

Frustrations are high with Sapong’s inability to score. Union head coach Jim Curtin sometimes sites Sapong’s great work rate off the stat sheet (which is important), but that’s often not enough for the fans. They want goals. Sapong didn’t give them that, but if you look at his performance by the numbers, he did pretty well. Two shots in his 27 minutes and accurate distribution all over the pitch that kept the Union in control – something that Burke was unable to provide for much of the match.

Warren Creavalle (84′)- 6

It’s difficult to give Creavalle a substantive rating as he only came in at the end to close out the match, but hey that’s exactly what he did. He came in as a defensive substitution, and the Union came out with a shutout victory. Take it with a grain of salt here, but Creavalle gets the “above-average” rating.

Geiger Counter:

Rubiel Vazquez – 3

Let things run a little too wild on both sides. Probably should have taken control earlier in the match before dishing out yellows late in the game.

Player of the Game – Mark McKenzie

McKenzie continues to solidify his role as Union starter and a solid MLS centerback. The 19-year-old stood toe-to-toe with a top MLS striker and came out definitively on top. Let’s see if he can do it against Zlatan on Saturday.

Author: Ryan Rose
Ryan Rose is a freelance filmmaker and writer in the Greater Philadelphia Area and one of the daily editors for PSP. A graduate of Hofstra University, Ryan returned home to Philly in 2014 - mainly for the sports if he's being honest with himself.

“[Rosenberry] was able to put some nice plays together with David Accam …”
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Hmmm. I came away with just about the exact opposite impression. I thought it was abundantly clear that there’s little to no chemistry between Rosenberry and Accam – especially when compared to the clear chemistry that exists with Rosenberry and Ilsinho.
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Also, I found it odd that Rosenberry took corners when Dockal and Medunjanin were both on the field.
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.“[Cory Burke is] still an obvious threat, however, and Orlando’s obligation to account for him opened things up for the rest of the squad.”
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Related to this, his off-the-ball movement was outstanding – especially when you contrast it to Sapong’s off-the-ball movement after the sub. There were numerous times Sapong’s movement (or, at least twice, his standing still) killed an attack because he simply got in the way. Burke, as you said, opened things up with diagonal runs that pulled defenders.
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Given this, I’d go one point higher for Burke and one point lower for Sapong. That said, if I’m stuck arguing about one point in either direction, odds are the rating is good enough and we’re just quibbling over details.

The problem I have with these ratings is when I compare them with those from the Vancouver game. That was one of the best performances ever by the team whereas although this was a good one, we also saw the issue of the Union not being able to get the second goal. Yet the average rating here was about a point higher than it was against Vancouver.
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I also think Vazquez did a better job behind the whistle than you give him credit for. Although he let things go, he let them go on both sides pretty evenly and was consistent.

Rubiel Vazquez refereed a better game than a “3”. Sure the game was chippy, but he was CONSISTENT the entire night. Sure you don’t want to see players get injured in a USOC match and yet I actually felt like I got to watch a fast paced match, even if it wasn’t a pretty match. Besides, I really enjoyed watching Dwyer constantly whining to Referee. I would prefer regular season games be that open and well paced.

I’m not sure about “enjoyed” but he was consistent, and it was clear he was going to let some things go.
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I like consistency from a ref / ump / official. At the very least, if calls are consistent, players at that level should be able to adjust accordingly.